Search form

Search form

Managing growth can be tricky. "Every time a business doubles in size, it should expect all of its [business] processes to break," says entrepreneur Cliff Kurtzman. To help keep the pieces from flying apart, experts say, it's important to hire action-oriented workers and make sure employees understand your goals. Also, make sure someone is keeping an eye on the numbers, and be ready to call in backup if needed.

Related Summaries

With the U.S. economy slow to recover from the recession, more small business owners are looking overseas for growth opportunities. E-marketing makes it possible for even the smallest organization to do business with the world, writes Steve Strauss, although he suggests targeting a single country at the outset and working to establish personal relationships there.

If you have a customer-loyalty program that offers rewards at various thresholds, research suggests that customers will feel more motivated if the numbers are larger. For instance, collecting 800 points toward a 1,000-point goal feels like more of an accomplishment than earning 80 points toward a 100-point goal -- even if the cost of accruing those points is exactly the same.

You don't make your business sound more important with vague, complex explanations of what you do, Michael Arrington writes. Just the opposite, in fact: Owners need to simplify the company's essence so that any employee, investor or customer can grasp it immediately. "Those that can't aren't doing their job," he writes.

Late fees and early-payment discounts are the typical inducements to get customers to pay their bills on time, but they're not very effective, writes Rosalind Resnick. Instead, try getting to the root of each customer's problem. Sometimes, for instance, late payments are a sign of dissatisfaction with your product or service. Fix the customer satisfaction issue and the checks will arrive on time.

Business owners might be hesitant to fire a new employee if they found a second prospect who was more qualified. But Paul Downs argues that the issue "is really about the best allocation of scarce resources." Look at it in terms of financial capital rather than human capital, he suggests: "Suppose you deposited your money in a savings account making 5 percent interest and then found another bank that was offering twice the return. Wouldn't you move your money?"